Authorities say they are unable to determine the cause of the fire that ravaged 11 West Condominiums in Sunrise Beach, after a State Fire Marshal investigation. No injuries to either civilians or firefighters were reported.
According to Sunrise Beach Fire Protection District Fire Chief Dennis Reilly, district units arrived at the scene in approximately seven minutes and encountered a large fire consuming a condo unit and extending into the attic space of the building. The fire was able to travel through the attic space and ultimately damaged six of the 10 units in the building.
Due to the significant amount of fire involved in the incident, firefighting units from Lake Ozark, Mid County, Rocky Mount, Northwest, and Gravois were called to assist. In addition, fire boats from Lake Ozark and Rocky Mount assisted with supplying the large volumes of water needed to extinguish the fire. Chief Reilly said the support given by the mutual aid units, and the assistances from Lake West Ambulance, the Camden County Sheriff’s Department, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol Water Patrol Division was critical in controlling the fire.
“I cannot overstate the importance of roles played by all our partner agencies. Without their help we would have had a tremendous amount of difficulty in dealing with this fire.
“This is certainly one of the largest fires we have seen in our District since I came here in 2012,” Chief Reilly said. “We are very fortunate that the fire occurred at a time when most people were awake. Thankfully a neighbor saw the fire and was able to alert many of the occupants prior to our arrival.”
The SBFPD covers more than 60 square miles on and around Lake of the Ozarks in northern Camden and southern Morgan counties. The district has two staffed stations and an authorized strength of 17 full-time firefighters. The district responds to more than 750 emergency calls annually, including medical and injury related incidents.
